Janelle Reinelt Brian Singleton

Transcription

1 Studies in International Performance Published in association with the International Federation of Theatre Research General Editors: Janelle Reinelt and Brian Singleton Culture and performance cross borders constantly, and not just the borders that define nations. In this new series, scholars of performance produce interactions between and among nations and cultures as well as genres, identities and imaginations. Inter- national in the largest sense, the books collected in the Studies in International Performance series display a range of historical, theoretical and critical approaches to the panoply of performances that make up the global surround. The series embraces Culture which is institutional as well as improvised, underground or alternate, and treats Performance as either intercultural or transnational as well as intracultural within nations. Titles include: Khalid Amine and Marvin Carlson THE THEATRES OF MOROCCO, ALGERIA AND TUNISIA Performance Traditions of the Maghreb Patrick Anderson and Jisha Menon (editors) VIOLENCE PERFORMED Local Roots and Global Routes of Conflict Elaine Aston and Sue- Ellen Case STAGING INTERNATIONAL FEMINISMS Matthew Isaac Cohen PERFORMING OTHERNESS Java and Bali on International Stages, Susan Leigh Foster (editor) WORLDING DANCE Karen Fricker and Milija Gluhovic (editors) PERFORMING THE NEW EUROPE Identities, Feelings and Politics in the Eurovision Song Contest Milija Gluhovic PERFORMING EUROPEAN MEMORIES Trauma, Ethics, Politics Helena Grehan PERFORMANCE, ETHICS AND SPECTATORSHIP IN A GLOBAL AGE Susan C. Haedicke CONTEMPORARY STREET ARTS IN EUROPE Aesthetics and Politics James Harding and Cindy Rosenthal (editors) THE RISE OF PERFORMANCE STUDIES Rethinking Richard Schechner s Broad Spectrum Silvija Jestrovic and Yana Meerzon (editors) PERFORMANCE, EXILE AND AMERICA Silvija Jestrovic PERFORMANCE, SPACE, UTOPIA Ola Johansson COMMUNITY THEATRE AND AIDS Ketu Katrak CONTEMPORARY INDIAN DANCE New Creative Choreography in India and the Diaspora Sonja Arsham Kuftinec THEATRE, FACILITATION, AND NATION FORMATION IN THE BALKANS AND MIDDLE EAST

2 Daphne P. Lei ALTERNATIVE CHINESE OPERA IN THE AGE OF GLOBALIZATION Performing Zero Peter Lichtenfels and John Rouse (editors) PERFORMANCE, POLITICS AND ACTIVISM Carol Martin (editor) THE DRAMATURGY OF THE REAL ON THE WORLD STAGE Carol Martin THEATRE OF THE REAL Christina S. McMahon RECASTING TRANSNATIONALISM THROUGH PERFORMANCE Theatre Festivals in Cape Verde, Mozambique, and Brazil Yana Meerzon PERFORMING EXILE, PERFORMING SELF Drama, Theatre, Film Lara D. Nielson and Patricia Ybarra (editors) NEOLIBERALISM AND GLOBAL THEATRES Performance Permutations Alan Read THEATRE, INTIMACY & ENGAGEMENT The Last Human Venue Marcus Tan ACOUSTIC INTERCULTURALISM Listening to Performance Denise Varney, Peter Eckersall, Chris Hudson and Barbara Hatley THEATRE AND PERFORMANCE IN THE ASIA- PACIFIC Regional Modernities in the Global Era Maurya Wickstrom PERFORMANCE IN THE BLOCKADES OF NEOLIBERALISM Thinking the Political Anew Evan Darwin Winet INDONESIAN POSTCOLONIAL THEATRE Spectral Genealogies and Absent Faces Forthcoming titles: Adrian Kear THEATRE AND EVENT Studies in International Performance Series Standing Order ISBN (hardback) (paperback) (outside North America only) You can receive future titles in this series as they are published by placing a standing order. Please contact your bookseller or, in case of difficulty, write to us at the address below with your name and address, the title of the series and the ISBN quoted above. Customer Services Department, Macmillan Distribution Ltd, Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS, England

3 Recasting Transnationalism through Performance Theatre Festivals in Cape Verde, Mozambique, and Brazil Christina S. McMahon Theater and Dance, University of California Santa Barbara, USA

4 Christina S. McMahon 2014 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No portion of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, Saffron House, 6 10 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. The author has asserted her right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act First published 2014 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN Palgrave Macmillan in the UK is an imprint of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in England, company number , of Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS. Palgrave Macmillan in the US is a division of St Martin s Press LLC, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies and has companies and representatives throughout the world. Palgrave and Macmillan are registered trademarks in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries. ISBN ISBN (ebook) DOI / This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained forest sources. Logging, pulping and manufacturing processes are expected to conform to the environmental regulations of the country of origin. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress. Typeset by MPS Limited, Chennai, India.

5 To Mary McMahon and Ruth Warneke, strong women and matriarchs and Mom and Dad, wise counselors and nurturers and Anne- Marie and Becky, siblings and confidantes and Kolya, Matthai, and others from their generation yet to come...

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7 Contents List of Illustrations List of Abbreviations Series Preface Acknowledgments viii x xii xiii 1 Introduction Global Casting Calls: Performing (Trans)National Identity on Festival Circuits 1 2 Mapping Festivals: Cape Verde, Mozambique, and Brazil in the Lusophone World 35 3 Recasting the Colonial Past: History, Imagination, and Fantasy on Festival Stages 68 4 African Women on Festival Circuits: Recasting Labor Roles and Female Sexuality 97 5 Adaptation and the (Trans)Nation: Creolized Shakespeare, Intercultural Cervantes Toward a Conclusion: Forum Theatre in Festival Venues 164 Notes 183 References 205 Index 222 vii

8 List of Illustrations 1 Manuel Semedo Tavares stands in front of the morgado (landowner) house in Engenhos village, Santiago Island, where he has worked as a guard since Photo by the author Edimilson Sousa plays peasant farmer Bita, a strike leader inspired by the actor s extended family s experiences with agricultural exploitation in Engenhos. In OTACA s Tchom di Morgado. The 2004 Mindelact International Theatre Festival, Cape Verde Islands. Photo: João Barbosa, courtesy of the Mindelact Association Sandra Horta dramatizes the oral history of Matilde Tavares in ESTE s Mãe Preta, a tribute to Cape Verdean mothers who have struggled to feed their children during times of drought. The 2005 Mindelact International Theatre Festival, Cape Verde Islands. Photo: João Barbosa, courtesy of the Mindelact Association A sign hanging outside the restaurant Filha da Mãe Preta (the Black Mother s Daughter) along Porto s Douro River in northern Portugal. Photo by the author Kongolese prophetess Kimpa Vita conveys her visions about returning a Kongo king to power. Anabela Vandiane in Elinga s Kimpa- Vita: A profetisa ardente. FESTLIP 2009, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Photo: Rogério Resende, courtesy of Talu Produções Bety Fernandes and Rosy Timas wrap themselves up in a long white piece of mesh resembling a wedding veil in Raiz di Polon s Duas Sem Três. Photo: João Barbosa, courtesy of the Mindelact Association Elliot Alex plays a barman tempting a desperate Mozambican woman Deolinda, played by Yolanda Fumo (R), to become his restaurant s official taster, while her Conscience, Isabel Jorge (L), looks on in disapproval in M Bêu s O Homem Ideal. FESTLIP 2009, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Photo: Rogério Resende, courtesy of Talu Produções. 123 viii

9 List of Illustrations ix 8 Nuno Delgado (the Fool) interacts with the head of Fonseca Soares (Lear) in GTCCPM s 2003 production of Rei Lear. Photo: Luís Couto, courtesy of the Mindelact Association Nuno Costa and Marco Freitas rehearse a scene from Pirámo e Tisbe in the forest in Solaris s Sonho de uma noite de verão, a Crioulo- language version of Midsummer Night s Dream. The 2005 Mindelact International Theatre Festival, Cape Verde Islands. Photo: João Barbosa, courtesy of the Mindelact Association Actors from Luarte and Agerre Teatroa play Dom Quixote s friends and neighbors in Dulcinéia e o cavaleiro dos leões. Teatro Avenida, Maputo, Mozambique. Photo: Agerre Teatroa, courtesy of Maite Agirre Actors from GTO- Guinea- Bissau play feuding families in Nó mama: Frutos da mesma árvore. FESTLIP 2009, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Photo: Rogério Resende, courtesy of Talu Produções. 173

10 List of Abbreviations CEDIT CPLP CSOs CTO ESTE FESTLIP FRELIMO FUNARTE GTCCPM GTO IMF NGO OMCV OTACA PAICV RENAMO Centro de Documentação e Investigação Teatral do Mindelo (Theatre Documentation and Research Center of Mindelo) Comunidade dos Países de Lingua Portuguesa (Community of Portuguese- Speaking Countries) civil society organizations Centro de Teatro do Oprimido (Center for Theatre of the Oppressed) Estação Teatral da Beira Interior (Theatre Station of Interior Beira) Festival de Teatro da Língua Portuguesa (Theatre Festival of the Portuguese Language) Frente de Libertação de Moçambique (Liberation Front of Mozambique) Fundação Nacional de Artes (National Foundation of the Arts) Grupo de Teatro do Centro Cultural Português do Mindelo (Theatre Group of the Mindelo Portuguese Center) Grupo Teatro do Oprimido (Theatre of the Oppressed Group) International Monetary Fund non- governmental organization Organização das Mulheres do Cabo Verde (Organization of Cape Verdean Women) Oficina de Teatro e Comunicação de Assomada (The Assomada Theatre and Communication Collective) Partido Africano da Independência de Cabo Verde (African Party for the Independence of Cape Verde) Resistência Nacional Moçambicana (Mozambican National Resistance) x

11 List of Abbreviations xi SADC SAPs TO UCCLA Southern African Development Community structural adjustment programs Theatre of the Oppressed União das Cidades Capitais Luso- Afro- Américo- Asiáticas (Union of Luso- Afro- American- Asiatic Capital Cities)

12 Series Preface The Studies in International Performance series was initiated in 2004 on behalf of the International Federation for Theatre Research, by Janelle Reinelt and Brian Singleton, successive Presidents of the Federation. Their aim was, and still is, to call on performance scholars to expand their disciplinary horizons to include the comparative study of performances across national, cultural, social, and political borders. This is necessary not only in order to avoid the homogenizing tendency of national paradigms in performance scholarship, but also in order to engage in creating new performance scholarship that takes account of and embraces the complexities of transnational cultural production, the new media, and the economic and social consequences of increasingly international forms of artistic expression. Comparative studies (especially when conceived across more than two terms) can value both the specifically local and the broadly conceived global forms of performance practices, histories, and social formations. Comparative aesthetics can challenge the limitations of national orthodoxies of art criticism and current artistic knowledges. In formalizing the work of the Federation s members through rigorous and innovative scholarship this Series aims to make a significant contribution to an ever- changing project of knowledge creation. Janelle Reinelt and Brian Singleton International Federation for Theatre Research Fédération Internationale pour la Recherche Théâtrale xii

13 Acknowledgments Behind this book are a multitude of individual voices and institutions in Cape Verde, Mozambique, Brazil, Portugal, and the US, all of whom deserve more thanks than I can offer here. I am indebted to the artistic directors of the three international theatre festivals at the heart of this project for their enthusiastic support and the gift of their time over the years: João Branco, Evaristo Abreu, and Tânia Pires. I would also like to express sincerest thanks to the numerous artists in Cape Verde and Mozambique who generously gave of their time in interviews and opened up their rehearsals to me during my fieldwork trips. Your work inspires and challenges me. This book is my love letter to you. Special thanks to all those who granted me formal interviews both on and off the festival circuit: David Abílio, José Mena Abrantes, Evaristo Abreu, Maite Agirre, Elliot Alex, Zenaida Alfama, Leopoldina Almeida, Tambla Almeida, Sabino Baessa, Serando Baldé, António Augusto Barros, Arsenio Bettencourt, Jorge Biague, João Branco, João Paulo Brito, Felix Bruno L. Carlos, Dinis Chembene, Ana Cordeiro, Claudio Correia, Crisálida Correia, Henrique Mendes Correia, José Carlos Lopes Correia, Alvim Cossa, Francisco Cruz, Nuno Pino Custódio, Matilde Dias, José Domingos, Herlandson Duarte, Manuel Estevão, Bety Fernandes, Josina Fortes, Francisco Fragoso, Narciso Freire, Claudina Gomes, Elisabete Gonçalves, Ambrósio Joa, Isabel Jorge, Ana Malfada Leite, Elmidou Lopes, Neu Lopes, Mário Lúcio Sousa, Rogério Manjate, Jorge Martins, José Rui Martins, Joaquim Matavele, Gilberto Mendes, Alverino Monteiro, Luci Mota, Paulo Neto, Atanasio and Casimiro Nhussi, Anacleta Pereira, Tânia Pires, Mano Preto, Zaina Rajás, Moacyr Rodriguis, Dany Santos, Edilta Silva, Paulo Silva, Victor Silva, Maria Simões, Manuela Soeiro, Amélia Sousa, Edimilson Sousa, Albertina Tavares, Manuel Semedo Tavares, Ney Tavares, Rosy Timas, Célia Varela, Nilda Vaz, Armando Veiga, Milanka Vera- Cruz, Mirtô and Mirita Veríssimo, Matchume Zango. In Cape Verde, the Baltasar Lopes cultural center in Mindelo became my home during summers 2004 and 2005 thanks to Toni Tavares, Josina Fortes, Tambla Almeida, and their collaborators in Fou- nana Projectos. Tambla Almeida was my talented Mindelact videographer. As former overseer of the Theatre Documentation and Research Center of Mindelo (CEDIT), Sílvia Lima helped with my archival work and xiii

14 xiv Acknowledgments became a spectacular friend to boot. During my two summers and yearlong research stay in Cape Verde ( ), I benefited from the guidance, hospitality, and personal support of many individuals, including Micaela Barbosa, Crisálida ( Totinha ) Correia, Eunice Ferreira, Kesha Fikes, Tania Oliveira, Deanna Reese, Victor Sancha, and Luisa Veiga. To my three sets of adoptive Cape Verdean parents, Camilo and Edna Gonçalves, Joanita and José Pedro Venícula, and Maria João and Sr. Isodoro: thank you for opening your homes to me. I am so proud to be your American daughter. I was fortunate to have four extraordinary research assistants at various stages in working on this book: Josy Rocha in Cape Verde, Érika Ramos in Cape Verde and Brazil, Maria Atalia in Mozambique, and Brian Granger at UC Santa Barbara. When I first developed this project as a doctoral dissertation at Northwestern University, I received invaluable guidance from committee members Margaret Drewal and Brian Edwards, and especially my adviser, Sandra L. Richards. Sandra, your wisdom continues to guide every word I write. Thanks also to my external committee member, Ellen Sapega at the University of Wisconsin Madison, who has remained integral to this project until the end. Others who patiently read my proposals and chapter drafts and provided precious feedback over the years are Leo Cabranes- Grant, Tracy C. Davis, Ann Folino- White, Jeff Hessney, Stephan Miescher, Stefka Mihaylova, Jesse Njus, Ana Puga, Emily Sahakian, April Sizemore- Barber, and Daniel Smith. Special thanks to Catherine Cole and Laura Edmondson, two wonderful mentors who were instrumental in shaping this book. At UC Santa Barbara, I especially wish to thank the members of my junior faculty writing group: Mhoze Chikowero, Ann- Elise Lewallen, Xiaorong Li, and Teresa Shewry, who helped me transform this project from dissertation to book. Carlos Pio carefully checked over all of the Portuguese in this book any remaining errors are my own. There is not enough space to thank all of my magnificent colleagues at UC Santa Barbara, but I want to mention Leo Cabranes- Grant, Suk- Young Kim, great advisers and friends, Ninotchka Bennahum, and two very supportive department chairs, Simon Williams and Risa Brainin. When I was finishing writing this book and tendinitis and carpal tunnel syndrome set in, I was lucky enough to have some excellent pinch- hitter typists and assistants: Kane Anderson, Angelina Huy, and my dad, Thomas McMahon. This research could not have been possible without financial support from Fulbright- Hays, the American Society for Theatre Research, the Academic Senate at UC Santa Barbara, and Northwestern University s

15 Acknowledgments xv graduate school, Buffett Center for International and Comparative Studies, Kaplan Center for the Humanities, and Program of African Studies. Thanks to Paula Kennedy at Palgrave Macmillan for her enthusiastic support of this project, Janelle Reinelt and Brian Singleton for their deeply insightful editorial suggestions, Meredith Heller for her stellar indexing, and to Kate Babbitt and Jo North for their sharp copyediting. Portions of Chapter 3 appeared as Mimesis and the Historical Imagination: (Re) Staging History in Cape Verde, West Africa, in Theatre Research International 33 (1) (2008): Portions of Chapters 2 and 5 appeared as From Adaptation to Transformation: Shakespeare Creolized on Cape Verde s Festival Stage, in Theatre Survey 50 (1) (2009): These are reproduced with permission from Cambridge University Press. I owe my deepest gratitude to my family, whose unwavering support buoyed me through many obstacles and moments of self- doubt. My parents, Thomas and Patricia McMahon, always challenged me to try my wings and continue to inspire me every day. Regy Varghese and Anne- Marie and Becky McMahon, thank you for an abundance of unconditional love and for sibling bonding. To my other family, my wonderful circle of friends in Santa Barbara (especially the coven ), you rooted me on every step of the way and kept me human (and sane) with many happy times and meaningful conversations. And to my nephews, Kolya and Matthai, you make me laugh and remind me what truly matters in life. I love you all.